Babies: 0 - 3 Months

Formula problems. Advice PLEASE! :-(

I wanted nothing more than to breastfeed my baby when I had him but by the third day we had to put him on formula because he was so starving. The doctor told me to mix my breast-milk with formula until I started producing more. My son is now almost 4wks old and strictly on formula with the occasional breast-milk bottle since I can only produce 3oz a day. (It has been that way from week one and I have tried everything to make more milk) :-(
 He was on Enfamil Gentle-ease (what the dr said try) for the first few weeks but he has been become more and more gassy, spits up more, and always has diarrhea now (ever since I had to stop mixing my milk in with the formula). Last night he was so miserable and he finally calmed down when he pooped (turned out he was constipated), which instead of his usual green pea-soup diarrhea was a mass of dark yellowish orange lumpy poop. I decided to change his formula today since we had to get more and I was told to try Similac by family members. I was going to switch to a soy based formula to see if it worked better for him but when I got to the store I saw Similac Advance (which said the closest thing to breastmilk) and since he NEVER has problems on breastmilk so I thought we would try it. He seemed to be doing great all day then all of a sudden, instead of spit up, my poor little man was puking everywhere. When he finally stopped crying from it, I ran to the store to grab the Similac Soy Isomil. He is sipping on it now and it seems to be working ok. It is definatly not as THICK as the Advance. But if this doesn't work we will have to try something else and Idk what to try next. Does anyone have any advice they could share as far as their experiences with other formulas and what might work? When I was breastfeeding the first couple of weeks I drank only soy milk so idk if that might factor into him being sensitive to milk based formula. Please, we really need help. :-( This is our first child and I am so lost. I already feel like a failure as a mom because I can't get my milk to come in.   

Re: Formula problems. Advice PLEASE! :-(

  • You need to stop switching up formulas and talk to his pedi. One incident of puke doesn't mean it was the formula and making so many fast changes is going to make any issue worse.
    Formerly known as elmoali :)

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  • His pedi can't see him until next week and I didn't know switching would do anything. He has never puked before, especially never so much, and it scared me and my mom told me not to feed him anymore of what I was feeding him. That is the only reason I went ahead and got the soy. I have to feed him something until his pedi can see him.
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  • Originally his poop was yellow and "seedy" and not that often. But when he went to only formula it turned into pea-soup so I thought it was diarrhea. I don't know what is normal with baby poop. I just know he now only poops at night and fills two diapers back to back.
    I really didn't know switching formula could do that, (and never even thought about heartburn!) and you are right they do need to educate moms because I was so hell bent on JUST breastfeeding that I don't know a thing about formula.  
  • With both of my kids I have used similac advanced after weaning from breast milk. No problems except both had reflux so there was always some spit-up/puking. I think before you give up on a formula, you have to let their systems get used to it before you can tell if it's a good match for your LO. Good luck! I know how stressful it can be as a first time mom and how disappointing it can be to switch to formula when you were so committed to BFing. But you are doing fine. Hang in there.
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  • Don't worry mama you are doing just fine. I too wanted nothing more than to ebf my dd but it didn't happen for us. All that matters is that your LO is fed . Don't let guilt or disappointment bring you down. We started on the similac advance but she didn't handle it well so we switched to similac sensitive and now on a mix of the sensitive and total comfort. Just need to find what works best for your baby's tummy. I've heard the gerbers gentle formula is pretty close in thinness in comparison with breast milk if that helps
  • I think you should speak with his pedi. I'm using Similac advance formula since birth and am not having any issues. However, our experience may differ from yours. GL!
        DS born 8-16-2013
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  • Definitely slow down with changing formula. For gassy issues I've found Gerber Goodstart to be best, it's seems to be a but easier on the digestive system. Your LO likely isn't having diarrhea, poop should be liquidy to pastey. Yellow, green, brownish is all normal.
    I had my heart set on EBF with
    Y first and had a hard time when it didn't work out. Don't beat yourself up Mama! Give the pedi a call for a little advice/resource.
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  • I would encourage you to keep trying to breastfeed. Definitely stop changing formulas, and please don't use soy unless your doc says to because of a lactose intolerance diagnosis.

    it drives me crazy when they talk you into supplementing that early. my milk didn't come in until 4 days PP. Baby only needs colostrum those first few days anyway.
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  • With dd1 we went through a few formulas and ended on nutramagen. It's what pedi recommended and it was a life saver. He recommended that instead of soy. Also remember that they are still developing. The flap that closes the esophagus isn't fully developed until close to 3 months.
    ~Dana

  • I would encourage you to keep trying to breastfeed. Definitely stop changing formulas, and please don't use soy unless your doc says to because of a lactose intolerance diagnosis. it drives me crazy when they talk you into supplementing that early. my milk didn't come in until 4 days PP. Baby only needs colostrum those first few days anyway.
    I would love nothing more than to breastfeed. But he has been breastfeeding since birth, and I only produced 1 1/2 ozs a day. I have been drinking mothers milk tea, taking fennelgreek, pumping between feedings, and I even tried to bring more milk by drinking non-alcoholic beer. Nothing works and I am slowly drying up. I personally get gassy when drinking plain milk, but Im fine on soy. and I am not lactose intolerant. I have him strictly on Similac Isomil until his dr apt next week. He has already shown little signs of improvement, and even gave me a couple more poopy diapers than normal today. I don't see anything wrong with soy formula as long as he is ok and happy on it. Thanks everyone for all the answers and support!  
  • I would encourage you to keep trying to breastfeed. Definitely stop changing formulas, and please don't use soy unless your doc says to because of a lactose intolerance diagnosis. it drives me crazy when they talk you into supplementing that early. my milk didn't come in until 4 days PP. Baby only needs colostrum those first few days anyway.
    It drives me crazy when people think that somehow you're doing something wrong by supplementing even early.  The first five days of my son's life were a nightmare because I wasn't making anything - yet I was breastfeeding around the clock.  He screamed for nearly two days because he was hungry and I had no idea.  He lost nearly two pounds from his birth weight.  It was frightening.  It's very hard when you want with all your heart to breastfeed but your body won't let you without having others judge you about it.  If I had known I was unwittingly starving my son I would have started with formula sooner.
  • trudibell said:
    I would encourage you to keep trying to breastfeed. Definitely stop changing formulas, and please don't use soy unless your doc says to because of a lactose intolerance diagnosis. it drives me crazy when they talk you into supplementing that early. my milk didn't come in until 4 days PP. Baby only needs colostrum those first few days anyway.
    It drives me crazy when people think that somehow you're doing something wrong by supplementing even early.  The first five days of my son's life were a nightmare because I wasn't making anything - yet I was breastfeeding around the clock.  He screamed for nearly two days because he was hungry and I had no idea.  He lost nearly two pounds from his birth weight.  It was frightening.  It's very hard when you want with all your heart to breastfeed but your body won't let you without having others judge you about it.  If I had known I was unwittingly starving my son I would have started with formula sooner.
    That is exactly what happened with me and my son. 
  • trudibell said:



    I would encourage you to keep trying to breastfeed. Definitely stop changing formulas, and please don't use soy unless your doc says to because of a lactose intolerance diagnosis.

    it drives me crazy when they talk you into supplementing that early. my milk didn't come in until 4 days PP. Baby only needs colostrum those first few days anyway.

    It drives me crazy when people think that somehow you're doing something wrong by supplementing even early.  The first five days of my son's life were a nightmare because I wasn't making anything - yet I was breastfeeding around the clock.  He screamed for nearly two days because he was hungry and I had no idea.  He lost nearly two pounds from his birth weight.  It was frightening.  It's very hard when you want with all your heart to breastfeed but your body won't let you without having others judge you about it.  If I had known I was unwittingly starving my son I would have started with formula sooner.


    Totally agree!
        DS born 8-16-2013
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  • If you are mainly FF (only 3 oz of BM isn't much) your baby's poop would not be as runny as BF baby poop.  My son had diarrhea with Gentlease as well.  It was awful.  He is mainly BF but I supplement for the same reasons as you (although not as extreme as your case).  I can't imagine what it would've been like if he had the formula 24/7.  He also spit up a ton on Gentlease.

    I agree with everyone else on not changing formulas if at all possible.  It's rough on the baby.  If you change to soy, give it some time before changing again.  Also consider the hypoallergenic formula if all else fails!

    Right now I'm using Enfamil Newborn.  My LO gets really gassy with it, but I just try to burp him often and use Dr. Brown's bottles so it isn't as bad.  I'd rather deal with gas than throwing up and/or diarrhea.  I don't know if I'll ever find a "perfect" formula.
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